This spunky little girl makes friends across all social spectrums, the African American household help, her Native American relatives and her upper-class schoolmates at a finishing school for girls. She extends her love towards all of these characters equally while encouraging them to pursue God. The stories are set at the turn of the nineteenth century and the terms currently in use for these groups are not employed. Rather some historically accurate terms are used, though not in a derogatory way.
I found Leppard’s work quite enjoyable to read aloud. While some find the stereotypical accents confining and perhaps derogatory, I had so much fun reading a variety of accents. From mountain hillbilly, to black servants and first generation English speaking native’s, Leppard easily conveys the appropriate pronunciation through her use of the written word. Just read along and you’ll find yourself sounding like the Indian in any Western movie, or a black kitchen worker. I felt that these ways of speech were historically accurate, though I was somewhat frustrated with Uncle Ned’s (Mandie’s watchful guardian) never-ending use of the terms squaw, papoose and brave, not once using the word woman, child or young man, when this is clearly what he was indicating. Characters in the book who have received an English education speak just as Mandie does.
Written for the 8 – 12 year old market, my five-year-old also found these stories intensely exciting when read aloud. Leppard successfully builds tension time and again until my daughter was squealing, “Mommy, look ahead and see what happens! Are they going to be all right?” There are aspects of Leppard’s writing that would be hard to distinguish as a parent without reading her work aloud.
Reading these stories with my daughter pointed out that Leppard has a gift for creating questions in the young readers mind, then following through with the answer. Whenever my daughter asked a question, Leppard would answer her within the next few sentence.
My little girl was so entranced with the ongoing plot and mystery of these stories that every family member – both immediate and extended - was treated to ongoing narrations of the tales by phone and in person while we read through the collection. I have never heard her relate a story so enthusiastically in the past, and in such detail. Our family has read over 40 chapter books together with our children over the past few years, and I believe the “Mandie stories” are amongst the favourites of both my daughters, my two year old included.
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